Valve and generator assembly



June 20, 1933. A YEA E 1,914,393

VALVE AND GENERATOR ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 24, 1930 E- mil E s i fi m a Patented June 20, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ANTON J. YEAG-ER, OF WISCONSIN RAPIDS, \VISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO PRENTISS- WABEBS PRODUCTS 00., OF WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION F WISCONSIN VALVE AND GENERATOR ASSEMBLY Application filed February 24, 1930. Serial No. 430,552.

This invention relates to a new and improved valve and generator assembly for vapor stoves or the like, and more particularly to a construction of this character adapted to provide a mixture of air and fuel for instant lighting.

With usual types of vapor stoves 1t is necessary to preheat a vaporizing or generating tube before the stove can be put inoperation. This preheating has been carrled out by matches or candles and in some forms of ccnstruction small auxiliary burners are used for this purpose.

t is highly desirable to provide a construction whereby the main burners may be instantly lighted and I have provided one such construction in my prior application, Serial No. 350,532 filed March 28, 1929. In the prior application a separate mixing valve structure is provided, while in the present application I have shown a construction in which the starting valve and operating valve are formed in a single unitary structure.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved valve and generator assembly for vapor stoves admitting of instantly lighting the stove without preheating.

It is a further object to provide a device of this character which has separate controls for the starting mixture and operating fuel.

It is also an object to provide such a device in which the starting and operating controls and valves are combined in a unitary structure.

It is an additional object to provide a device in which fuel and air under pressure mav be drawn from a fuel tank by a single tube, the fuel supply being measured by a calibrated orifice located away from the bottom of the tank.

It is a further object to provide a con-. struction which is simple in design and operation and adapted for commercial production.

Other and further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawing, in which v Figure 1 is a side elevation with certain parts insection, showing a tank and burner assembly;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on an enlarged scale through the valve construction;

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a section taken on line 55 of Figure 4.

In the drawing, the tank is shown in cross section at 11, this tank being secured by the strap 12 and bolt 13 to the rod 14, which is secured to the burner assembly by the bolt 15. The burner assembly comprises a mixing tube 16 connected to a distributing passage 17, which leads to the burner 18. The mixing tube 16 is provided with the downward extension 19 having an open lower end to receive air for the mixture. The generating tube 20 is connected to the mixing tube 16 by the nut 21 which, as shown in Figure2, is threaded into the end of the generating tube and is provided with athreaded extension 22 which is threaded into the mixing tube.

The valve body 23 has an extension 24 into which the generating tube 20 is threaded. This valve body 23 also has a downwardly 89 extending portion 25 which is threaded into a boss 26 formed on the tank 11. The valve body 23 also has a threaded horizontal extension 27 on which is threaded the gland 28 which serves to compress the packing 29 against the valve stem 30. The valve. stem 30 is provided with the operating handle 31 and with a threaded portion 32 which is threaded into the extension 27 of the valve body 23. The valve body 23 is provided 9 with the horizontally extending bore 33 which joins a valve seat 34. A reduced bore 35 leads to the enlarged bore 36 which receives the generator tube 20. The valve stem r 30 has an enlarged portion 37 and a conical valve portion 38 which joins a reduced portion 39, this latter portion extending throughout the length of the generator tube 20.

The valve portion 39 carries a pin 40 on its end, which pin, or needle, is adaptedto extend loosely through the end of the tapered opening 41 formed in the connecting rod 21. A vertically extending passage 42 is formed in the valve body communicating with the horizontal bore 33 and being enlarged and threaded at its lowerend in 'the valve body extension 25 to receive a fuel tube 43, which latter extends downwardly to a point adjacent the bottom of the fuel tank 11, as shown in Figure 1.

The valve body 23 is provided with an externally threaded lateral extension '44 which carries a gland 45 compressing the packing 46 to make a gas-tight joint against the valve stem 47. This valve stem 47 is provided with an operating handle 48 and with a threaded portion 49 which is threaded into the extension 44. The extension 44 is provided with a horizontal bore 50 which endsin a valve seat 51 and a short reduced bore 52 which communicates with the bore 35 in the valvebody. The valve stem 47 is provided with an inner extension 53 which terminates in a conical valve portion 54.

The lower extended portion 25 of the valve body is also provided with a vertical bore 55 which communicates with the horizontal bore 50. The lower portion of the bore 55 is enlarged andthreaded to receive an upper extension 56 on aplug57. The lower end of this plug 57 is internally threaded to receive the upper end-0f a tube 58, the lower end of which terminates adjacent the bottom of the tank,'as shown in Figure 1. This plug 57 has a reduced orifice 59 which places the tube 58 in communication with the bore 55. The plug 57 is also provided with'a-small laterally extending opening which serves to communicate with the air under pressure in the upper portion of the tank 11.

In the operation of the stove and valve assembly shown, the tank 11 is filled with gasoline or similar fuel, to a point approximately as shown in Figure 1, and air under pressure is pumped into the upper portion of the tank above the gas line. It will be understood that the valve handles 31 and '48 will be turned to close both valves before the pressure is put in the tank, The valvehandle 48 is then rotated in the counterclockwise direction to unseat the valve portion 54 from the valve seat 51. This permits gasoline to be forced by air pressure up throughthe tube 58, through the calibrated orifice 59 and into the bore 55. Air under pressure'also passes through the orifice 60 into the bore 55.

The air and fuel mixture passes through the bore 50 and through reduced opening 52 into the main bore 35 of the valve structure. From the bore 35 the mixture of air and fuel passes into and through the generating'tube 20. It will be understoodthat this tube is not closed by the needle 40, and the air and "fuel mixture passes into the mixing tube 16 and through the distributing tube 17 to the burner 18, where it may be instantly ignited by a match. The flame from the burner 18 heats up the generating tube 20 and when this tube has reached such temperature as to gasify liquid gasoline, which will occur in a very few moments, the valve handle 31 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction to unseat the valve 38. Gasoline is now forced up through tube 43 and passes through bores 33 and 35 to the generator tube 20 where it is gasified. It passes on through the mixing tube 16 and distributing tube 17 to the burner 18. 7 As soon as this has taken place, the valve handle 48 may be turned in the clockwise direction to seat the valve portion 54 against the valve seat 51. This serves to close 01f any further discharge of the mixture of gas and air from the bore 55. 7

It will be apparent, therefore, that air is drawn from the gasoline tank only during the first few moments of operation of the stove, and this air-is comparatively small in quantity as it is drawn through a very minute orifice. The gasoline also is drawn through the calibrated orifice 59 which is located at a point where it will not be clogged by any sediment or foreign matter which may have been deposited in the bottom of the fuel tank. Due to the small size of the orifice 59 as compared to the size of the tube 58, the velocity through tube 58 will not be sufiiciently great so as to suck up sediment into the tube and bring it to the orifice. The amount of air withdrawn from the tank in starting the stove need not be sufiicient to materially decrease the pressure or render it necessary to immediately restore pressureto the tank.

This construction provides a method whereby the stovemay be instantly lighted and used without delay and where a single valve assembly serves to control both the starting mixture of gas and air and the usual operating supply of liquid fuel.

The form of construction shown is to be considered as illustrative only, as my invention may be embodied in other forms and I contemplate such changes and variations as come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a vapor stove, a fuel tank, a valve assembly associated with the fuel tank, an axial bore in said valve assembly, a generator connectedto one end of the bore, a valve seat in an intermediate portion of the bore, a valve, and twotpassages in'the valve assembly communicating with the fuel tank and with the bore on opposite sides ofthe valve seat, one of said passages communicating with "the liquid fuel in the tank and the other passage communicating withboth theliquid fuel and air under pressure in theitank.

2. Ina vapor stove, a fuel tank, a valve assembly associated with the fuel :tank, an.

axial bore in said valve assembly, a generator connected to one end of the bore, a valve seat in an intermediate portion of the bore, a valve, and two passages in the valve assembly communicating with the fuel tank and with the bore on opposite sides of the valve seat, and passage connected with the axial bore on the side of the valve seat toward the generator being connected to both fuel and air in the fuel tank.

3. In a vapor stove, a fuel tank, a valve assembly associated with the fuel tank, an axial bore in said valve assembly, a generator connected to one end of the bore, a valve seat in an intermediate portion of the bore, a valve, two passages in the valve assembly communicating with the fuel tank and with the bore on opposite sides of the valve seat, the passage connected. with the axial bore on the side of the valve seat toward the generator being connected to both fuel and air in the fuel tank, and a valve for controlling said passage.

l. In a vapor stove, a fuel tank, a generator valve assembly associated with the fuel tank, an axial bore in the assembly, a generator tube connected to one end of the bore, a valve seat in an intermediate portion of the bore, a enerator valve member having a valve poru tion adapted to engage sald seat, two passages in the valve assembly communlcating with the fuel tank and with the axial bore on opposite sides of the generator valve seat, the passage connected with the axial bore on the side of the generator valve seat toward the discharge end of the generator tube being connected to both fuel and air in the fuel tank, and a valve for controlling said passage.

Signed at Wisconsin Rapids, lVisconsin, this 19th day of February, 1930.

ANTON J. YEAGER. 

